SOMERSET COUNTY

Wyeth agrees to $194 million Cyanamid cleanup

But environmentalist says proposal is 'playing Russian Roulette'

Mike Deak
@MikeDeakMyCJ

BRIDGEWATER  Wyeth Holdings has agreed to perform nearly $194 million worth of cleanup work at the American Cyanamid Superfund Site.

The project will remediate six disposal areas onthe 575-acre site, where chemicals were manufactured for nearly 100 years.

In addition, Wyeth, a subsidiary of Pfizer, will pay $1 million for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's past costs of overseeing cleanup work at the site, on East Main Street across the railroad tracks from TD Bank Ballpark and near the Bridgewater station on  NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line.

“This agreement marks an important milestone in EPA’s work to clean up pollution throughout this complex site,” said Regional EPA Administrator Judith A. Enck.  “This will allow critical work to reduce problems posed by soil and groundwater contamination on parts of the site.”

The cleanup work includes remediating contaminated soil and  ground water.

In addition, Wyeth will close two disposal areas whose contents previously were excavated and removed from the site.


Wyeth will continue to operate a system for collecting and treating contaminated ground water under the site to prevent it from seeping into the nearby Raritan River, Cuckel’s Brook and Middle Brook. 

A study to evaluate alternatives for cleaning up two additional waste disposal areas is ongoing.

The agreement already has drawn fire from an environmentalist.


“The EPA’s finalized plan for the American Cyanamid site isn’t a cleanup, it’s a cap," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "The site is on the banks of the Raritan River and in the flood plain, so by capping the site, they are really playing Russian roulette. (The) $194 million is nothing compared to the real cost of cleaning up this site.

"Instead of a complete cleanup plan," Tittel continued, "they are using this money to cap most of the site. During future floods, toxins could be washed into the river.  There are even lagoons holding millions of gallons of toxic waste on the site and they need to be removed before they rupture. This plan lets the polluters off the hook for pennies on the dollar."

The American Cyanamid Superfund Site, which once employed more than 3,000 workers, has a history of industrial pollution dating to 1915. 

Though the Bridgewater plant primarily was used for the company's chemical and dye business, Cyanamid's consumer brands included Old Spice, Formica, Pine-Sol and Nina Ricci. Cyanamid also developed tetracycline, an antibiotic.

In 1998, the EPA removed 140 acres of the Bridgewater site from the Superfund list and a portion of the property was redeveloped. TD Bank Ballpark is where the plant's parking lot was, and the Bridgewater Promenade shopping center is where the plant's research facilities were.

Manufacturing on the site, where Chemical Light was developed in the early 1970s, began to be phased out in the early 1980s and ceased altogether in 1999. All buildings were demolished by 2009.

The property passed through many owners, as the remains of American Cyanamid were swallowed by other corporations. In 2009, Pfizer, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, acquired the property as part of its purchase of Wyeth, which bought American Cyanamid in 1994.

When manufacturing was active on the site, a number of impoundment areas were constructed for waste storage and disposal, which eventually contaminated soil and ground water.

The site was placed on the federal Superfund list in 1983 after hazardous chemicals were found in the impoundments, soil and ground water. It was one of the first properties put on the Superfund list. The soil, groundwater and waste disposal areas are contaminated with volatile and semivolatile organic compounds and heavy metals. 

The extent and nature of potential health effects depend on many factors, including the level of contamination to which people were exposed and how long people may be exposed to the contaminants.

The ground water  is highly contaminated with benzene and other contaminants. Many of the site contaminants are known or suspected to cause cancer in people and animals, and benzene can cause cancer in people..

“Just as we must act to meet the environmental challenges of the present and the future, we cannot leave unaddressed the toxic legacies of the past like American Cyanamid’s site in Bridgewater Township,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “This agreement will help protect waterways from seeping contaminated groundwater and makes significant progress toward closing waste disposal areas at the site.”

The public has 30 days to submit written comments on the consent decree between Wyeth and the federal government.  The consent decree can be found at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com